Fulltone Full-Drive 2

This pedal takes some time and adjusting to find the tone in your head. Take the time, at stage volume, to set it and tweak it.

This is where I believe that anyone who says can't get a good tone out of it is having a problem. If you are using a modern alkaline or heavy duty batter putting out a ton of milliamps, this pedal sucks. Hands down. Go buy cheap batteries at a dollar store( you know the 2 for a $1 kind) or carbon zinc and watch this pedal come alive. It does not get to bright, great output. And the tone!!!! I can get SRV, Clapton, Santana, John Mayer, you name it, its there. The key is the batteries. I am using it with a 65 deluxe reverb reissue.

I gig with out a backup.

Mr. Fuller is great, always takes time to answer any questions you have.

I play in a contemporary praise and worship band. I am required to be versatile in the sounds I can get and this pedal covers 80% of my dirty needs. If it were stolen I would hunt them down and make them pay!! I spent a long time and lots of money getting to this point, and now I could not live without it. It's my goto pedal. P.S. Don't forget the cheap batteries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will most likely have to do some extensive knob tweaking in order to pull out the sound you're looking for. This may discourage some hyperactive musicians or those that always scored low on critical thinking questions.

I'm running an American Standard Stratocaster into a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue. TS-9's and other Tubescreamer clones always colored my strat sound with a mid-range hump. In FM mode, the Fulldrive delivers fantastic transparency. Comp-cut supplies the user with clean boost that does not lose bass snap/response. On the grit channel of my amp with drive set low and comp-cut + boost engaged, my Strat growled. Working the tone knob on the Fulldrive blends in or smooths out those singing harmonics: sheer sizzling tube bliss.

PS: This pedal will NOT make a bad setup sound good. Get a good TUBE amp, and a quality guitar. Provided, you have those, the Fulldrive 2 will make a good setup sound cosmic.

Built like a tank.

Never had to an issue with the pedal that merited a call.

It's not made for Metal, but if you're into blues/rock, this is your ticket to ride. A bit pricy for an OD box but then again, so are Ferraris.

Not partlcularly difficult to use, as long as you can live with a VERY trebly tone!

I ran my Godin LG with Duncan P90's into the Fulldrive, then from Fulldrive into my Alessandro Working Dog Rottweiler 2X12. I
was very impressed at first by the transparency of this unit. However, as I spent more time with it, I became increasingly annoyed by the tonal price one must pay for this transparency-- the fact that the tone control (described very accurately as a presence control in manual) is voiced in such a way that even turned down completely, the pedal adds in an awful lot of top end-- way more than I care for. I will admit that my ears are particularly sensitive to high frequencies. I tried adjusting amp, guitar, pedal, but could not achieve a setting that yielded a satisfying clean sound (w/pedal disengaged) and lead sound (pedal engaged), but I just got a headache and returned it. I read somewhere that Mike Fuller designs his pedals to sound best through darker-sounding amps, and that would seem to be the case, judging from my experience. I did not like the "vintage" setting at all-- it had the overly congested mids and "processed" tone typical of Tube Screamers that I'll admit I greatly dislike (no reflection on the designer).
Lots of people like this pedal. It's just voiced in way that MY ears don't find musical. In short, I would've preferred a tone control that allowed for more "control".

It's built like all Fulltone pedals-- very well.

No contact with Manufacturer.

I play blues, blues-rock, jam-band rock. Been playing since mid-70's. I'm going to try the fat-boost-- see if that is eq'd more to my liking. Bought the pedal online from Humbucker Music. I highly recommend them-- they are very customer-service oriented-- just great folks to deal with.

-Super easy to use.
-Incredible sound no matter what guitar/amp combo used.

There is nothing that sounds better than this pedal. I have owned every high end pedal on the market, and nothing comes close to the tone of the TR100. It is dripping with mojo!

Indestructible. Never have to worry about this unit.

Great service is what you should expect from Fulltone. Never had any problems.

Best overdrive pedal... hands down. Blues, Country, Rock, it does it all. Whether you use a Strat, Tele, Les Paul, etc. this thing overdrives your sound without taking away from the tone. Worth every penny!

It doesn't get any easier.

I heard rumors about this pedal and searched for three years before finding one. It was everything I dreamed and more! I tried every boutique pedal on the market hoping to find "THAT" sound. This is it.

Super durable. Have gigged and never had any problems. Solid construction and metal housing provide excellent protection.

Have called Mike Fuller on a number of occassions trying to get info in my search. Mike has always been courteous and quick in his responses. I know there are bad rumors floating around online, but I have had nothing but the best experience.

If you happen to find one of these, buy it on the spot. Better yet, get in touch with me, and I'll buy it. I would cry if I ever lost this pedal. It is everything I wanted in an overdrive pedal!

Pretty straight forward with 4 knobs and a toggle switch.

This is mainly why I'm submitting a review. I had high hopes for the Fulldrive, even though it appears to be a love it or hate it pedal. I was truly underwhelmed by the tone of the pedal.

The comp-cut feature makes a good clean boost, but there are probably better pedals out there for that function. Does have a tremendous amount of boost available, though.

The flat-mids function puts some gain into the mix, but the clarity of the tone goes away. It would seem that this mode over the vintage should be able to retain the original character of your tone, but it doesn't. The tone sounded like a blanket got thrown over the speaker. I compared with my Monte Allums H2O Blues Driver, and it was night and day in terms of clarity.

The vintage function was my last hope, and it definitely hits the TubeScreamer territory. The problem is that I did an a/b comparison with my Bad Monkey and I could get the exact same tone out of the BM that I could with the FullDrive. So, why spend $100 more on a pedal that does the same thing?

The boost function reacts differently depending on which mode you are in. Can be useful in the lower boost range.

I don't think that the Full Drive is a bad pedal, I just think it's pretty average, especially considering the price.

Well-built. Reliablity wouldn't ever be a concern.

Never dealt with Fulltone.

The Full-Drive isn't the greatest thing out there. If you want something that could nail a clean boost and the Tube Screamer range, it's a decent choice, except you can't use it for both, as the toggle switch controls that. My advice is get separate pedals that do the same thing for less $.

Easy to use. Takes a little tweaking to find the hot spots you like, but once you do, you're set. Manual is very helpful for basic understanding of the knobs and their functions.

Sound quality is almost transparent. Nice and full. I use tube amps only and keep it in the FM mode. Gooses small or large amps nicely into OD w/o distortion and w/o noise, and keeps your tone intact. I leave mine 'on' always (unless I'm using my '70 Pedal or OCD) and just adjust my guitar volume knob for tones and levels. I don't use the 'Boost' feature (too noisy and distorted for my use). Volume is on about 10-11 o'clock, Tone is about 1-2 o'clock, toggle set in FM mode always, Overdrive is about 9-10 o'clock, Boost is off.

My home practice set-up, when not going direct into the amp is:
'78 Fender Princeton Reverb amp (reverb on 3), Arion Analog delay (*cheap but hella cool pedal...go ahead you can laugh..heheh), Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone Deja'Vibe (the older Gold one) to guitar ('78 Gibson SG Custom, '81 Fender Strat, '00 Gibson Les Paul Custom). That's it.

My stage set-up is: '81 100w Marshall 2203 or 100w Marshall Plexi re-issue half-stack or stack w/vintage Marshall cabs ('75 1982B & '76 1982A w/G12H Greenback Celestion speakers), Arion Analog delay, Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Deja'vibe, Fulltone 'Clyde' wah to guitar (see above for models).

Sometimes I add in my Fulltone CF-1 ChoralFlange and Fulltone'70 pedal. When I want to summon the 'Balrogs from Hell', I add my '78 Mu-Tron Octave Divider into the chain. Usually I just use my basic practice set-up w/the wah added, thru a Marshall half-stack.

Tons of compliments on my tone since I've been using Fulltone.
You want to sound like everybody else? Get a TS-9. Want to sound like you? Get a Fulldrive II. Like I said, I just leave it on and forget about it.

Dependable pedal. I've always been careful with gear and guitars, so I haven't had any issues. Seems very solid, but I'd hate to have someone step on it and break the toggle.

Haven't had any need for customer support.

Regardless of what style of music you play, you can get great tone out of this pedal. Been playing for over 30 years, and I play mostly Bluesrock/Hardrock with my band. This pedal kicks my Marshall up a notch to just where I like it. It's great for your home/room practice set up (Fender tube combo), also. I would definitely get another FDII if this one was lost or stolen. Sold my '80s TS-9 and never looked back. I could do w/o a couple of the features on the FDII ('Boost' & Comp-Cut'), but that's just me.

After reading some people trash this pedal in their review, I had to chime in and set the record straight...heheh. : )

Now if Mike would make an Analog Delay pedal (reasonably priced of course), that would be great!

Love your tone and just want transparent overdrive? Get an FDII.

PEACE!

Requires a lot of fiddling and tweaking to get decent sounds of it.
Many possibilities, but only VERY FEW sweet spots.

"The best overdrive pedal in the world"??? HA HA HA!
I hate it. I had borrowed it for a few weeks from a friend of mine and this pedal totally frustrated me.

Ok, the "compcut" mode is pretty good actually. It makes a nice, brilliant sounding clean boost, not unlike a Vox AC30 top boost.

But the other modes!!! Goddamn, so disappointing.
"Flat mids" mode gives a raw fuzzy overdrive. If you like this sound, buy a RAT instead. they are a LOT cheaper too!!
"Vintage" mode is total crap. Sounds like you put a blanket over your speakers. Unless you turn the tone knob to 10, this mode is virtually inusable. With the gain cranked it sounds like a boring, lifeless fuzz. Has no nice sustain. And with gain past 2 o'clock the sounds totally farts out, like a dying duck!

No, I'm not using a crappy Squier, nor a Peavey Rage 15W!!
I have tried this pedal with my beloved Fender '59 Bassman RI and a couple of good quality guitars (PRS custom 22, Fender '62 Tele and a vintage Yamaha SG 2000).
THIS PEDAL SUCKS!!
I don't know why everybody praises this piece of crap. Because it's so expensive, right??

I HATE IT ! ! !

worst overdrive pedal ever!

only the clean boost is nice, but you wouldn't pay the price for that alone!

simple controls, but it took me a while to get what i wanted out of it. i tried it through a tweed princeton and a princeton reverb (while my other amp was in the shop) and wasn't real impressed...UNTIL i got my deluxe reverb back from the tech :) then i was a happy camper...

i'll say an 8 here because it's easy to figure out if you like it with this amp or that amp, but it's a pain to try to get it to sound the same across the board with all amps...more on this in sound quality though...

i've been playing with this pedal onstage for a year now and while i try other settings all the time to see if i like comp-cut or vintage, i always come back to flat-mids with overdrive @ 12 o'clock, volume about 11...and boost at about 2. i know if i set it there, i'll sound like i want. the pedal doesn't have a whole lot of different sounds, but the subtleties keep me tweaking...i just always go back to my old settings and it always sounds a bit better than what i just tried.

a 9 here b/c i'm always listening to other stuff just in case...joe dimaggio was married to marylin monroe and said it didn't keep him from looking!

i use a vintage '69 paisley tele or a '52 reissue tele mostly on the bridge pickup for everything. i only run a full-drive for effects and use the amp tremolo from time to time on my old deluxe reverb (weber 12f50 speaker).

i love the sound of the fulldrive with this amp, and from what i understand, mike fuller designed it to be used with blackface/scooped mids amps...other amps i've tried it with were a dr.z z28, a tweed fender princeton, and a sf princeton reverb. too middy no matter what i did to those amps or the pedal. BUT with my deluxe, it's perfectly balanced and gives me a full-bodied sound without that honky, ear-fatigue inducing mid-range that i can't stand.

playing top 40 country and a few old rock tunes, i enjoy having just a simple rig that nails clean (with a little guts to it and the volume on the guitar down a hair) like brent mason all the way to past brad paisley (with the volume up) and then on to springsteen type raunch (full volume and boost engaged).

i've had the pedalboards and twin reverb...even went direct for a few years on the road for ease of set-up and tear-down, but this rig is really organic. what i love most is that my teles still sound like my teles at every point of the set...even if the boost is on and we're rockin, it sounds like my tele only the baddest, meanest version of my tele.

i don't find that i need a distortion pedal or stacked overdrives to get some balls to my sound b/c having that little deluxe fired up and breathing really helps the pedal do its job. i know it would not sound as good with a small amp 'cause i've tried that, but i am still dying to get on a loud stage and try it with a twin just for the heck of it :) i'm sure that would sound good too! and one of these days i'm going to buy a badcat hot cat 30...when i'm rich...

definitely a 10 here...i have depended on it and never been let down. i run it on a 9v battery and just change it about every 4 or 5 gigs to be safe...lasts a while...

i bought a second one just in case one day i need a back-up.

the knobs don't look that sturdy and develop stress-type cracks around the set screw on some of them, but i don't think anything could hurt the actual function of the pedal shy of backing a truck over it.

jim weider got his ts808 stepped on by rick danko and it cracked...isn't that what they were made for??? WEAK!!!

Mike gets a 9 here in my book. he's not incredibly informative or friendly, but who said he had to be? but I definitely wanted to post this section b/c like everyone says, if you have a bad experience you tell like 9 people, and if you have a good experience you might tell 2...gotta be fair...

i only contacted fulltone one time when i needed some rubber feet for one of my full-drives (had taken them off to try on a pedalboard...didn't keep the pedalboard...lost the dang feet!) i offered to pay for the feet and shipping and kindly asked how to obtain some stock replacements. i got a carbon copy e-mail that he had forwarded to one of his helpers saying to send me four rubber feet and screws for my full-drive.

like i have heard from others, he doesn't have all the time in the world to chit-chat and discuss your take on tone or the music industry or why your parents spanked you as a child, but he is a helpful businessman that supports his product and will (within reason) do his part to make you a happy customer.

if you are really that lost for a friend, check out mike's more personal portions of the website...he's got a heck of a studio and guitar rig...you'll be jealous!

for a laugh sometime, check out his "tech, tips, answers" section and read the "e-mail of the day." i'd get sick of dealing with guys like that if i were in his business :)

i have been playing country for about 10 years...been playing guitar for 15. if it says fender on it, i've owned it...no matter what it is. to copy what the nashville guys are doing on top 40 country radio, you need this type of sound. it's everywhere! even clean tele tone isn't really clean anymore!!! if it were stolen, i'd use my spare and then shop for another spare to pop-up on ebay (i like the 2003 fm model with short toggle).

i think the best feature to me is that i can do what i need with ONE pedal. the boost feature is great for adding a thicker tone and a little volume boost. i don't like the idea of having a keeley this and a analog man that and an expandora for this sound and a blahblahblahblah...one pedal and a volume control on my tele is fine with me :)

my deluxe really sounds better all around with this thing and it helps me really dig in and play more dynamically. a guy doesn't need a ton of gear, but get a few really good pieces that sound great and then do something with them...play the crap out of that guitar and quit changing pickups. mic your amp up and see if you really need that bass knob cranked so high (you don't)...see if you can find a tone that doesn't have to be song specific (leave that to the keyboard player and his patches or the guy with a pod). find a tone that just sounds great regardless of song/style/etc and play!

i'd give it a 10 overall, joe dimaggio would advise against it...have you ever noticed how marylin's toes were kind of freaky? nothing's perfect...

Very easy to use - it's hard to get a bad sound out of it.

My setup:
- Reissue '54 Les Paul modded w/Humbuckers, '60 Relic Strat
- Silverface Vibrolux (modded to pre-CBS), '68 Deluxe Reverb, 90's Blues Jr.
- THD Hot Plate attenuator

The sound is great, but if you turn the gain up too high, the boost gets a bit muddy. Pushing a vintage tube amp that's set just to the point of breaking up with the comp cut engaged is sonic joy. Try it and see.

Built like a tank. I take backups for everything, but I don't think I'd need to for this one.

This is where I differ with a lot of folks. I've communicated with Mike on several occasions, and have found him easy to deal with and friendly. He supplied me with a 3DPDT switch before he really started to sell them to the public, and he was great about modding my original Fulldrive to the FD2 circuit some years back. Personally, I think that if you're open and positive with him, you'll get that back.

This is an original Fulldrive that was modded by Mike to FD2 specs, and has the pull switch Comp Cut. I have to be honest, this pedal sat on the shelf for a few years while I used a 808-mod TS9 and/or an Expandora for Blues/Classic Rock-type gigs. But recently, I started getting tired of the TS9's exaggerated mids, and the Expandora's squashy, kind of boxey tone. I got out the FullDrive, and bang! there was the tone I was looking for. It's not completely transparent, but it's close, and the Comp Cut feature makes it extremely versatile. I'm tempted to call Mike again and see if he'll mod this to the current 3-position switch version.

This pedal even sounds great with my PODxt. This is also a great pedal to take to open mike jams where you don't know what amp you'll be using, because it can be used in so many ways.

I'm giving this pedal a 9 instead of a 10 only because it doesn't also make espresso.